Richard Leakey is an anthropologist, evolutionist and atheist.[2] A 2008 picture of an overweight Richard Leakey can be found HERE. Other pictures of an overweight Richard Leakey can be found HERE and HERE and HERE. In October 2010, he appeared to have a healthy weight.[3] However, a May 2012 picture of Leakey featured HERE in the USA Today' had a picture of him where he was once more overweight.

James Boster, an overweight, evolutionist professor of anthropology at the University of Connecticut, became unhinged and angrily shouted at a campus, open-air, Christian preacher in a crude and ignorant rant (see: Video). The incident was so embarrassing for the university that they felt compelled to denounce Boster's behavior.[8]

Ed Brayton is an atheist blogger at freethoughtblogs.com. His blog Dispatches from the Culture Wars is a prominently featured blog at freethoughtblogs.com. He is also the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of the pro-evolution blog The Panda's Thumb. Pictures of an overweight Ed Brayton can be found HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE. A video of an overweight Ed Brayton at the Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District trail can be HERE. A video of the overweight American atheist Ed Brayton mocking the fit, Christian martial artist Chuck Norris can be found HERE. According to Chuck Norris, most obesity in America is the result of hedonism (see: Chuck Norris on the topic of obesity). Many Christians believe that a hedonist lifestyle is a causal factor of atheism (see: Causes of atheism).[9] Other videos of an overweight Ed Brayton can be found HERE and HERE. On January 2, 2013, Brayton indicated he had a medical emergency which caused him to require having open heart surgery.[10]

Larry Moran is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto. His blog Sandwalk is described as "Strolling with a skeptical biochemist". [11][12] Moran is an atheist.[13] Pictures of an overweight Larry Moran can be found HERE and HERE.

Erasmus Darwin's "love of food (particularly fruits, sugar, cream and butter) was matched by his dislike of exercise, and by the age of 46 he had grown so corpulent that a semi-circle had to be cut out of his dining table to accommodate his girth at meal times."[14]

Aleksandr Oparin was an atheist, Soviet biochemist. A biography of Oparin declares: "Ill health dogged Oparin in his final years, and his death in 1980 was probably the result of a heart attack."[15]

The agnosticErasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, is believed to have influenced Charles Darwin as far as the development of his evolutionary beliefs.[16][17] As far as Erasmus Darwin's eating habits, "His love of food (particularly fruits, sugar, cream and butter) was matched by his dislike of exercise, and by the age of 46 he had grown so corpulent that a semi-circle had to be cut out of his dining table to accommodate his girth at meal times."[18]

AronRa is an atheist activist and vlogger. He is also an ardent evolutionist and vocal critic of creationism. In 2012, a blog post appeared on Freethoughtblogs via atheist Zinnia Jones' blog in which AronRa had excess weight issues.[19] The picture can be found HERE. In 2014, a video entitled Aronra on faith appeared on YouTube in which AronRa appeared to have excess weight.

Steven Novella is a prominent atheist/agnostic/skeptic/evolutionist who was involved in the pro-evolution campaign called Project Steve. Novella had some excess weight challenges as can be seen HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

Since World War II a majority of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the evolutionary position which employs methodological naturalism have been atheists.[21] For a list of overweight and/or obese notable atheists please see: Atheism and obesity

On December 28, 2010, the pictures of the members of the American Atheists organization's board of directors showed a significant portion of its members having excess body weight. Members of the American Atheists board of directors who were overweight as of December 28, 2010 included: Richard Andrews, Blair Scott, Monty Gaither, and Ann Zindler. A picture of an overweight Richard Andrews can be found HERE. Pictures of an overweight Blair Scott can be found HERE and HERE. A picture of an overweight Monty Gaither can be found HERE. A picture of an overweight Ann Zindler can be found HERE.

On August 11. 2013, a new overweight member of their board of directors was listed - namely, Jamila Bey.[36] A video of an overweight Jamila Bey can be seen HERE.

Research suggests that extra pounds and large waists undermine perceptions of leadership ability.[37]

Feet/ankles problems: According to Stuart D. Miller, M.D.: "It is important for the public to know that obesity isn't just an aesthetic issue, but a contributing cause of musculoskeletal health problems, specifically with the feet and ankles."[46]

Lower levels of balance recovery and increased risk of falls: In her thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, entitled A modeling investigation of obesity and balance recovery, Sara Louise Matrangola writes in the abstract: "Obesity is associated with an increased risk of falls and subsequent injury. Previous studies have shown weight loss and strength training to be beneficial to balance, but knowing which is more beneficial will allow researchers to design interventions to maximize the benefits in terms of balance and reducing risk of falls."[47]

Obesity and Alzheimer's disease

A PET scan of the brain of an individual with Alzheimer's disease reveals a loss of function in the temporal lobe.

In 2005, WebMD published:

“

People with diabetes are at particularly high risk of Alzheimer's disease. But now there's strong evidence that people with high insulin levels -- long before they get diabetes -- already are on the road to Alzheimer's disease.

As the body becomes more and more overweight, it becomes more and more resistant to the blood-sugar-lowering effects of insulin. To counter this insulin resistance, the body keeps making more insulin...

Insulin Triggers Amyloid Buildup

High insulin levels are known to cause blood vessels to become inflamed....

One dangerous effect of this insulin-caused brain inflammation is increased brain levels of beta-amyloid. Beta-amyloid is the twisted protein that's the main ingredient in the sticky plaques that clog the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

"What was striking was the magnitude of the effect," Craft tells WebMD. "Inflammation can be a result of amyloid elevations but can also create an environment in which amyloid is made more readily. Inflammation can be both the result and cause of amyloid production."[48]

”

A 2009 health report on a medical study indicated:

“

They compared the brain scan of 94 people in their 70s who were obese & overweight. They found that the obese had lost tissue in the frontal & temporal lobes areas critical for planning & memory. Declines were also seen in areas used for attention & executive functions, long term memory & movement

A neurologist Professor Paul Thompson said, “That's a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases that attack the brain. But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control.”M[49]

”

Health effects of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is "characterised by loss of neurons and synapses in the cerebral cortex and certain subcortical regions. This loss results in gross atrophy of the affected regions, including degeneration in the temporal lobe and parietal lobe, and parts of the frontal cortex and cingulate gyrus.[50] Some of the primary symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are: memory problems, mood swings, emotional outbursts, brain stem damage which impairs function in the heart, lungs plus causes disruption of various other bodily processes.[51]

An abstract of the medical study entitled Measures to Assess the Noncognitive Symptoms of Dementia in the Primary Care Setting by Brent P. Forester, M.D. and Thomas E. Oxman, M.D. inidcated "Noncognitive symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias include psychosis, mood disturbances, personality changes, agitation, aggression, pacing, wandering, altered sexual behavior, changed sleep patterns, and appetite disturbances. These noncognitive symptoms of dementia are common, disabling to both the patient and the caregiver, and costly."[52]

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines biology as "a branch of knowledge that deals with organisms and vital processes."[56] One of the most basic vital processes relating to human biology is eating. Given that overweight atheists typically champion evolutionary pseudoscience, it is not surprising that many have not mastered regulating their daily food intake.